Ex MP Sebastian Edathy who was born in Hannover as the son of a migrant from Kerala and a German mother, is to stand trial in a German court on charges of acquiring and possessing child pornography. The trial is to get underway in February and may last for 9 days. If found guilty Edathy, 44, could face up to two years in jail or a fine.
The prosecutor's office in Hannover charged that Edathy had downloaded child pornographic photos and videos on seven occasions in November last year, using his official laptop of the Bundestag, the lower house of German Parliament.
Since the allegations against him surfaced Edathy has repeatedly denied any wrong doing. He admitted he possessed nude photos of under age children but claimed they were not classified as child porn under German law.
Edathy a former home affairs spokesman of the Social Democratic Party rose to prominence after successfully chairing a parliamentary enquiry committee that investigated a string of nine racially motivated murders committed by a neo Nazi gang between 2000 and 2007. He also served as chairman of the Germany-India parliamentary group during 2003-2007.
In the aftermath of the allegations against Edathy the Bundestag last week passed a new legislation to tighten the country's laws concerning child pornography by banning the use of photos and videos of naked children for commercial purposes.